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TITLE:
DATE OF REVIEW: 9/16/08

Misc. Info
URL: http://www.unamused-comics.com/insertcomichere.php
Author: "Zack"
Other Works: N/A
Started: >2 Years?
Number of Comics: 58 One-Shots, 79 Story Comics. 137 Total.
Voting: TWC?
Incentives: N/A
Incentive Updates: N/A
Genre: Humor
Rating: PG - Some violence. Lots of guns. Nothing big.
Notes: Chosen by request. Important! This review only applies to the story: it will not address the one-shot section, but you can assume the art stays pretty constant there too.

Art
Coloring: Color
Style:Appears American
Effort: 3/5. Characters are somewhat detailed, he bothered coloring them, and there are simple backgrounds.
General: It's clear that the art isn't the focus on this webcomic, which is cool with me, because I really don't read comics for their art. From the get-go, the author approaches his subject with a bit of humor. Ouch, that forth wall was broken before it began. Panel 2. I guess he just didn't bother to draw it so the characters wouldn't know they're in a comic, since he started out without a background and in black/white. Bear in mind these aren't grayscale or solid black/white either. These are pretty good pencil sketches from the looks of it. Art develops as time goes on, but style remains almost exactly the same. Characters are almost exactly the same start to finish, and I've had no trouble telling them apart. Art is strangely rendered. It's nothing ruining, but it just makes it look like a little lower quality.

Story
Background: So two unemployed losers live in a studio where they make comics, but one day things go horribly wrong: a guy who uses cardboard cut-outs to distract attention gets them involved in a government scandal at Area 51.5. Problems ensue when a mad scientist with 3 arms gets his hands on alien technology.
Complexity: Face value. Most of these are pretty short-term jokes, there's very little depth to this story at all.
Continuity: It's one story arc so far. No issues so far except a few gaps in logic.
Clarity: The story is explained as you go, but a lot of things don't make sense... such as why there are zombies. Still, they spell out how the story's gone. It just doesn't follow logical sense.
Substructure: None. It's been pretty unnecessary at this point anyway.
Draw: The main hook here is the humor. The comic was obviously developed as a satire, so if you're going to be looking into this, that's all you need to really consider.
Overall: It seems the story has only begun. Sadly, it's not very deep. The comic thrives on short-lived humor and doesn't put depth nor scope into its characters. While there are differentiating personalities, they lack distinctness and thus we are left with a bunch of sociopaths and some cheap humor. It seems a zombie foreman is the most well-adjusted person on the cast, and he's a minor character who undoubtedly will not appear again. The comic is good for a quick laugh, but it is doubtful that the plot will culminate in any major plot development, nor character development. That is not to say the author can't change, this seems early on in the comic to judge, but based on the current pattern, it won't be good for anything but a chuckle (though that may be the goal). If you like this comic, it will almost certainly not be for the story (unless the concept of randomness is what makes you laugh). If you enjoy it, read the One-Shot 'Random Jokes'. You'll get about the same experience, but with no flowing story.

Upkeep
Update: Stated: Fridays for the story, Mondays for the one-shots.
Site Design: Shockingly, this is where the comic shines. Layout is nice, and well organized. You'll find everything you need with ease, but you'll get a broken link when clicking on 'forum'.
Comic Navigation: Again, I have all I need here. The archive button is nicely situated, each comic is titled, and you have all the buttons you need for such a short story. Comic navigation here is great.

Metascore
Art: 3. Again, it looks good. This comic has some nice stuff going for it, and I'm hoping that the art will continue to evolve. If it keeps up this rate, it will climb the scales, no problem.
Story: 1. The story is almost non-existent. It's a series of jokes that only loosely follows a plot. I dearly hope that, given more time, it will develop, but right now characters and story alike are bland.
Upkeep: 3. Looks good, you've got everything you need. Doesn't have anything special to make it stand out and give it the four, though.
Final Grade: 2. This comic is one of humor. If you don't like the jokes, you will get nothing from this comic. On the other hand, it is relatively new, it seems. I'm hoping the comic develops, but at this point it's just another face in the crowd. If the author doesn't give up it could be good. Put more work in.

Closing Remarks
My first two. Remember, I grade hard. I still feel a little bad about scoring such a new comic, but I'll probably get over it. Prospects could be good if the author develops more, but I get the feeling they're not headed that way with this comic. This is simply for the humor. There is sarcasm, there are things that don't make sense. That will make some people laugh, but it's definitely not universal, and on my grading scale that just won't get you above two s out of five.